Arts Lab 7.0: Marah Isnaf | Month V

This month was full but in a really good and grounding way, with a nice balance between creative work, reflection, and shared moments.

We finished the Roma exhibition, and it went really well. Seeing everything completed after all the work felt satisfying and rewarding. As part of the exhibition, I worked on a landscape park architecture project, which became a very personal and positive experience for me. Designing the park helped me reconnect with my architectural side and reminded me how much I missed working with space, landscape, and community-based ideas. Creating my own artwork within this project made me feel happy, present, and creatively fulfilled.

During this period, we had several cultural nights that added a lot of warmth to the month. The Portuguese Cultural Night was lovely and relaxed, full of sharing and calm energy. The Turkish Cultural Night was amazing — fun, lively, and full of life. Beyza did an incredible job, especially with the food preparation. Everything was delicious and clearly made with so much love and care. A lot of volunteers joined, the house was full of people, laughter, and good vibes, and it really felt like a big shared celebration.

We later had a meeting at the hub focused on the methodology of emotions as a project and how this approach could be integrated into the Cucuteni Museum residency. Together, we created a six-day plan that we all agreed to follow, giving us a clear structure while still leaving space for creativity and flexibility.

We also gathered to create a video for the mid-term meeting in Bucharest for the organization. We chose to record it in a more personal way, like a podcast, where we talked together about the moments we’ve shared here and the projects we’ve been working on. These conversations will be part of the final video, reflecting our collective experience.

Toward the end of the month, we officially started the Cucuteni Museum residency. Today, we finished five days of the residency, and it feels really good. The youth completed their artistic projects and created their own interpretations of Cucuteni. It was beautiful to see how each of them expressed the culture in their own way. Monica and I took photos and videos with them, and we will create a full video showcasing their work.

In addition to the residency work, we also attended Mircea’s birthday party at his family’s house. It was a very warm and genuine experience. I really enjoyed it, his parents were lovely, and it added a personal and human moment to the month. 

Overall, this month reminded me how important creative freedom, emotional awareness, and personal expression are in my work. Having space to create my own artwork, working with a shared emotional methodology, and finishing a full residency process with the youth helped me feel more balanced and connected.

Looking forward, I’m excited to continue building on this experience and to see how the work, relationships, and creativity keep growing

This monthly report was written by Marah Isnaf, our Palestinian volunteer taking part in a seven-month Arts Lab 7.0 mobility, co-funded by the European Union under the European Solidarity Corps.